Seven Minutes to Midnight
by SilverGhostKitsune
Summary: A mysterious person shows up asking about Mother. What happens when their identity is revealed? Will Reno take charge and stand up or will this new person beat him to it? RenoxOC, CloudxTifa...Courtney dont kill me for this!...rated for language, violence
1. Chapter 1

Dis: I no own Final Fantasy Advent Children. cries

This takes place one year after the movie! Oh, and Cloud didn't die from the explosion at the end! Aaaaannnnddd...He and Reno are friends now! Also, Kadaj and his crew survived.

Ages:

Everyone except Marlene and Densel: 24

Marlene and Densel: 12

"Talking"

'Thinking'

----- Scene change

_Italics_sounds

Chapter 1: Enter-A Deadly New Rival, Or Are They?

Cloud rode on his motorcycle through the desert, sword brandished and deflecting Kadaj's bullets. This was the 5th attack that Kadaj and his crew made against Cloud and Reno, who were now currently protecting the last vile of Sephiroth's DNA. Reno was currently battling Loz on one of the tall boulders. Kadaj fired and struck cloud's goggles, effectively knocking them off.

"Now tell me, dear brother, where is mother!" Cloud grimaced and reached up to touch the scratch on his face. A tiny smudge of blood rubbed off onto his hand. He noticed a faint drone in the distance, but disregarded it.

"Even if we knew, like hell we'd tell you" Reno shouted from his perch. Loz had been stunned after the boisterous red head had turned the static on. Suddenly the drone became a roar as a black motorcycle skidded to a halt between Kadaj and Cloud. The rider was wearing a black cloak that covered their form entirely, making it impossible to discern the wearer as male or female. The ride on the bike had miraculously not forced the hood on the cloak to fly off.

"Did someone say 'Mother'" a monotonous voice asked. Reno and Cloud exchanged looks and glared at the person.

"Let me guess, you are also after what these morons have? I will allow you to dispose of the red head, however, Cloud is mine" Kadaj said, smirking madly. He sped off and began firing rounds at the blonde, who followed after. The new member of the fight gazed up at Reno and chuckled darkly.

"As if you can tell me who I can fight!" The rider hopped off the bike with a large sword in hand. The blade shimmered, even in the cloudy light and black, curling runes were engraved on the blade's face. The hilt was of toughened leather and a black gem sat on the pommel's end. The sword was as long as the person's leg, but appeared light as it was swung in a graceful arc, almost carving a new airway in Reno's face. He ducked and swung his baton (AN: for lack of a better word.) at the person's side.

The fight continued, with both parties trading forceful blows. Suddenly, the force of one of Reno's blows knocked the sword out of the cloaked figure's hand and several feet away. Then the combat continued, with the now weaponless figure punching and blocking Reno's strikes.

"Why don't you just give up? You're only wearing yourself down further." The other person scoffed at Reno's offer.

"The day I give up is the day I die!" Reno's eyes widened slightly at the venom laced voice and then he grinned.

"Suit yourself." He shrugged and charged at the person, flipping the switch on his baton so that he would stun the person and knock them out. Then he side-stepped the person and hit them in the side, knocking them over. The person stood up and shook out their right arm. 'I think he cracked a few ribs. Damn, that's gonna hurt tomorrow!'

The cloaked figure rushed at Reno, but stopped and fell to their hands and knees, gripping their left arm. 'Damn, the stigma is spreading!' The figure raised their head in time to gaze at Reno as he slammed his baton into their side. The person skidded to a halt 5 ft. away, lying motionless on their side. Reno walked over to the person and squatted down next to their head.

"Let's see who you really are." Slowly pulling off the hood, he gazed upon a lightly tanned face. Even though it was in a grimace, Reno could still see that was definitely not a man's. Long brown hair with a few blonde highlights flowed stick-straight to her hips. "Damn! You're a girl?" He took one last look at her face before whipping out his phone and calling Cloud.

--------------------

_Ring Ring Ring_

Cloud withdrew his cell phone and quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Reno. You busy? We have a little bit of a prob."

"No. Kadaj ran off after I deflated his back tire. What's up?"

"Well...Remember Blacky?"

"...Who?"

"The mysterious person in the black cloak. Well, turns out he...was a she."

"And this is a problem...how?"

"You know my policy on not hitting a girl unless there's a dire need? Well she and I were in a very large...um...scuffle and I..."

"You...what?"

"I sorta beat her up and knocked her out." Cloud heard Reno sigh and scuffle around on the other end of the line. Cloud shook his head.

"Calm down Reno. You didn't know that you were fighting a girl till it was too late. It's not your fault."

"Yeah, well I think she's bleeding and I can't just leave her here."

"Didn't she have a motorcycle? You know how to ride one." With that, Cloud hung up.

--------------------

Reno sighed and looked at the girl lying motionless on the ground next to him. He bent down and picked her up after putting away his phone. After carefully climbing onto the motorbike, he set her down in his lap, praying she didn't fall off as the engine roared to life and the pair took off, heading into Midgar.

--------------------

(Ok...This is in the girl's mind as she 'sleeps')

"Kira!" The voice was a mere whisper on the wind. (AN: The name is pronounced how it looks.) The girl turned her head towards the setting sun. In the distance, a large range of mountains stood, outlined in the golden rays of light. Purple eyes scanned the horizon and the valley below the outcrop on which their owner stood.

"Who's there?"

"Call me a friend." Suddenly, a large, black wolf appeared beside the girl, smiling into the sunset. Ivory fangs glinted in the twilight. The beast looked up and into the girl's glacial purple eyes. "Isn't it about time you awoke?"

"Wha?" Suddenly, there was the feeling of being pulled downward and the girl closed her eyes.

--------------------

End Dream

The girl Reno had brought back to Tifa's slowly opened her eyes. As her gaze swept across the room, a sense of panic arose and she bolted out of the bed and ran towards the door. As soon as she was a few feet away from the knob, it opened and in stepped Reno. The girl backed up, right into a corner. Reno looked at her and opened his mouth.

"Whoa! Easy there. You're ok."

"Who are you and where have you taken me." Noticing the girl's narrowed eyes, Reno was glad that he had taken her weapon away.

"I'm Reno and you are at Tifa's place. She's a friend of mine."

"I don't care if she was your girlfriend! Why didn't you just leave me in the desert?" The girl swung out her fist after Reno had come closer. He caught her wrist and was surprised when she wrenched it from his grip.

"Well, normally I don't hit girls unless I have to. It's sorta one of my codes I live by. You were hurt pretty bad and I couldn't leave you there to die."

"You wouldn't have done that if I was a guy." Reno winced at her scathing tone. 'She's right though. I wouldn't have done that if she was a guy.' "See!" She pointed at his face. "That's the whole reason I wore the cloak. I didn't learn from the best just so guys could go easy on me!" She swung out her leg and was astonished as Reno ducked and swept her feet out from under her. She quickly regained her footing and started throwing punches left and right.

"Why are you after 'Mother'?" The girl grimaced as Reno blocked a punch and pushed on her left arm to move her back. The girl bent her head forward so her waist-length hair covered her face.

"Only she can help me." Reno raised his eyebrows as he barely caught her whisper.

"What do you mean 'help you'?" The girl reached up and tore off the bandaging covering her left arm. Black-grey patches wound their way up her forearm and bicep.

"Geostigma" he whispered as he gently touched her arm, but pulled back as the girl winced. Then he smiled. "You know, there is another cure." The girl looked up with narrowed eyes. Her icy purple eyes sent a miniscule shiver down the red-head's back.

"You lie!"

"No, I don't. Come on! I'll show you." He was careful as he grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her down the stairs and out the front door. The girl stopped abruptly, halting Reno's dragging. He followed her gaze and realized she was staring at her bike.

"I drove it here." The girl whipped her eyes up to meet his. He noticed that she didn't seem too happy about it. "It was the only way to get you here." The girl looked thoughtful for a moment and nodded. She then walked over to the bike and got on. Reno stood in place and waited.

"Are you going to tell me how to get there or am I going to have to guess?" He smiled and got on behind the girl.

"Could you tell me your name?" The girl turned around to face Reno.

"Kira. My name is Kira."

"Nice to meet you, Kira." She smiled and turned back around as the engine turned on. As the bike kicked off, Reno was forced to wrap his arms around the girl's waist. 'Hard to believe such a tiny girl could be such a fighter.'

--------------------

"Here! This is it." The girl stopped the bike as they came across the large, crumbling church. Reno and the girl slowly walked up the steps and entered the church. The girl looked surprised as she observed the flooded chapel. She turned to face Reno.

"Are you sure this is it." The man nodded.

"Yeah. Just go into the water." The girl faced the open water and a look of resolve washed over her face. She strode forward and slowly stepped into the water. Reno jumped as she gasped aloud. "What?"

"It's freezing!" She turned and realized Reno was laughing. "It's not funny! I'd like to see you stand here in shorts and a t-shirt and not complain!" The girl suddenly bent down and immersed herself in the water. Seconds later, she came back up with a loud cheer. "It worked! I don't hurt anymore!" She then resumed swimming in the water, just for good measure.

_Ring Ring Ring_

"Hello?"

"Reno, where are you?"

"Cloud?"

"Yes! Now where are you?"

"At the church. Turns out the girl had Geostigma."

"Ok. Stay there! I'll be there in 5. Oh, and Reno?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay on guard." Reno looked around as he hung up and drew his baton. Kira looked up and noticed how Reno was positioned.

"Reno? What's going on?"

"Cloud's coming. He said stay alert. Something is happening and I don't know what." Kira stood up out of the water and walked over to the area Reno was occupying, but she froze when she realized her shirt was white and she was wet. Reno had turned to see what she was doing and she squeaked, trying to hide herself.

"Don't look! Don't look! Don't look!" She wrapped her arms over her chest. Reno blushed crimson and quickly turned around. He took off his black jacket and tossed it over his shoulder. Kira caught it and hurriedly put it on.

"Sorry."

"It's ok. You didn't know. Thanks for the..." She was cut off as the rumble of an engine neared the door and stopped. The doors to the church slammed open and in walked Cloud with Tifa not far behind. Cloud halted, dead in his tracks, as his eyes landed on Kira.

"Aerith?" His voice was a whisper on the wind. Tifa glanced worriedly to Reno and the red-head shook his head. 'She looks like her, but not. Aerith didn't have shocking purple eyes and had her hair braided. But, she looks so close to her...'

"Cloud, meet Kira. Kira, meet Cloud." Cloud snapped out of his stupor as the girl looked up and smiled faintly. Tifa snickered and waltzed up to the new girl.

"You, little missy, should be in bed. Someone as sick as you should be resting!" Tifa grasped the girl's wrist, but quickly found herself being flipped over and onto her back. The girl sat on Tifa's stomach, preventing any possible escape. Kira leaned down and poked Tifa on the nose.

"Do not think you can order me around! I guarantee you that that is a losing battle. Now, let's start over. Hi, my name is Kira. Pleased to meet you!" Kira stood up and offered the fallen girl her hand. Tifa smiled brightly and stood up, with the help of Kira.

"My name's Tifa. Sorry about ordering you around. I guess I'm too used to it, what with having to tell these two what to do." She pointed to the blatantly staring Reno and Wide-eyed Cloud.

"Holy Shit! You are the first to get away with talking to Tifa like that!" The two girls looked at each other and burst out laughing. The group slowly worked their way out to the bikes.

"Hey...do you have anywhere to stay?" Tifa and Reno looked shocked as Cloud asked Kira about where she was staying.

"Um...not really."

"Then you'll stay at Tifa's." With that he hopped on his bike and revved the engine. Tifa lightly tapped Kira on the shoulder and motioned for the girl to lean in.

"Could I ride with you? And if I can, could we stop somewhere else before heading back?"

"Sure! I might as well get to know the town." The two girls hopped onto Kira's bike and shot off, leaving Reno to ride with the normally silent blonde.

"Cloud! What the hell?"

"What?"

"You never asked anyone about where they're staying before. Why so sudden with the change of pace?"

"I don't know. Just felt like it."

"You know, she's not Aerith."

"I KNOW!" Reno jumped back from the unusual outburst. Cloud sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I know. It's just hard to see someone who looks so like her. It...hurts...a lot." Reno looked sympathetic.

"I've never really experienced that feeling before, so I can't really offer much. Only thing I can tell ya is ta move along!" With that, Reno got on the bike behind Cloud and the two took off towards Tifa's.

--------------------

"Turn left!" Kira gracefully whipped the bike into a nearby park and pulled to a halt.

"Where are we" Kira asked as she spun around to take in all there was to see. Trees lined the park and neat little paths wound their ways underneath.

"Twilight Park. It's pretty much the only park we have in Midgar." Tifa walked down one of the paths and sat down against a large oak tree. Kira followed. A small silence ensued. "How do you do it?"

"Pardon?" Kira looked over to see Tifa, with her eyes closed, leaning back against the tree.

--------------------

"What the hell is taking them so long?" Reno sat on the couch as cloud stared out the window.

"I dunno. Why is it so important for them to be here?"

"Shinra sent word that Kadaj is planning an attack against us. He doesn't know when, but he said to expect it sometime soon. If Kadaj wants to attack us, he'll probably go for the girls first."

"And you're just now telling me this!" Reno stood up and quickly walked to the other window. "Why aren't we looking for them?"

"Because what if Kadaj decided to attack the kids? Who would protect them?"

"Good point." Both now stood on guard at the windows.

--------------------

"How do you capture his attention so easily?"

"Whose attention?"

"Cloud's. Normally, he wouldn't even ask a stranger's name unless it was important; much less ask about their living arrangements." Kira noticed Tifa's hand curl into a fist.

"You like him don't you?" Tifa nodded.

"I always have, but it wasn't meant to be. He loved a woman named Aerith, who I became friends with. One day, Sephiroth killed her. Ran her through with a sword. Devastated everyone and just about killed Cloud. He disappeared for a while and then came back to work as a transporter for me. Eventually, he healed, but he doesn't let anyone too close. I think it's because he's afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Losing another one of his loved ones. When I was attacked by Loz...the guy that works with Kadaj. He has short silver hair...I ended up lying unconscious for who knows how long before he showed up. The panic in his eyes when he rushed over. I will never forget that look of shear terror. Eventually he recovered. Later, I tried to get him to open up more, but he took off again. Reno had to drag his ass back." At that point, Tifa started laughing.

"What?" Tifa flapped her hand.

"I wish you could have seen it! The ever stoic Cloud being dragged around like a dog by the ever crazy Reno! The two came into my place, Reno pulling Cloud across the ground by his shirt's collar." The two girls went into a fit of giggles. Eventually, they calmed down enough to continue their previous discussion.

"So...you are basically in love with a rock! I think this calls for some cheering up! Whats yall got for fun around here?"

"Well, I heard of this club that sounded cool. It isn't too far from my place. We could walk there."

"Ok...well I'm gonna need a new outfit!"

"Let's go then!" The two ran off towards the bike.

--------------------

"They're here." Cloud shot off the couch the moment the door opened. In walked two overly bubbly girls with five bags of clothes.

"Hey guys! Tonight we're going out, so wear your dancing shoes and something casual!" The girls ran up the stairs, leaving behind two very confused guys.

--------------------

"Oh that's cute!" Tifa looked at Kira as the brunette stared agape. She was wearing a pair of low-riding, black hip huggers and a red halter top. The top was sort of low cut and had a sort of frill around the bottom. It was covered by a thin layer of black lace on the outside. For shoes, she had on a pair of black leather boots.

"So is yours!" Tifa had on a pair of regular low-rise hip huggers and a yellow spaghetti strap top. Her shoes were the same type of boots that Kira had on. Both looked good since they were in shape, thanks to all the battles and such that they had to fight in.

The two finished putting on the last of their makeup. Tifa had shimmering powder that they both used and some perfume. Kira stuck to the natural look and just had on the perfume, shimmer powder, and some black eyeliner. Tifa had on the same, but with the addition of mascara, light gold eye shadow, and light pink lip gloss. Kira also had on some clear lip gloss. The two girls headed down the stairs.

"Marlene, Densel, behave for Mr. Rude" Tifa hollered over her shoulder.

"Ok" came the reply. Tifa grabbed her keys and then she and Kira headed out the door. They came across Reno, who was wearing black slacks and a white dress shirt that was half-way unbuttoned, and Cloud, who was in much the same outfit with a dark blue shirt.

As the girls came out, the two guys turned their heads and their jaws just about hit the floor. Well, at least Reno's almost did. Cloud kept his normal stature and leaned against his bike. Just as he was about to get on, Tifa pulled him back.

"Oh no! We are walking!" So the troupe set out.


	2. Author's Note

**Author's note!**

I am SO SORRY!!! To all my fans, new and old, please bear with me. I know I haven't updated on any of my fics for more than 3 months, and there are several reasons and causes to explain.

**1.** Every time I go to write another chapter or continue to work on one, I get a new idea for a completely new fic entirely.

**2.** Every time I go to write another chapter or continue to work on one, there is no inspiration to continue.

**3.** I have recently found that the guy I like might possibly like me back and it has pretty much put me off my fantastic fic-writing mood.

**4.** My mom has been on this new forum and won't let me get on the computer what so ever. In fact, she and I got into a huge argument over letting me on the computer to do HOMEWORK! Hello, last time I checked, homework is supposed to be more important than her forum.

**5.** I have also been out of town on a few occasions, mainly because my Great-Grandmother is getting up there in age and is becoming quite frail.

And lastly...

**6.** I finally got a social life instead of being a homebody. (Not to say other authors don't have one, but my mom gets home at about 6 pm and she doesn't know about fanfiction because I know she wouldn't approve of it no matter what I did to insure it is in fact a safe site!) My friends have been happy with me getting out of the house more, but it seriously lessens the amount of time I can spend on fanfics.

I hope all of you can forgive me for not updating in so long. I am hoping to get my writing mood back and look forward to that day. And please note; **THIS IS NOT A STRING OF EXCUSES, BUT RATHER A LIST OF TRUE REASONS WHY I HAVE BEEN MIA!**


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